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For all of strongs faults, he's never been accused of being bad at recruiting.

It will all come down to the qb tho. If one of those new qbs is good we will be competitive

Strong is going to recruit Florida like a sponge. It’s gonna be interesting to watch 4* players flock to USF

(04-27-2018 10:23 AM)BullsBEAST Wrote:  For all of strongs faults, he's never been accused of being bad at recruiting.

It will all come down to the qb tho. If one of those new qbs is good we will be competitive

:man it sounds like USF is going to be scary good next season. Actually the AAC has the potential to have its greatest season ever. The non conference portion could extremely eye popping to the outside world this season. Go Bulls

I hate to say it but.....10-2 and the east division championship. Hope I'm wrong....

USF is the most intriguing team for me this season. GaTech, @Houston, @Temple, and UCF should all be great games.

(04-27-2018 11:42 AM)NothingButKnight Wrote:  USF is the most intriguing team for me this season. GaTech, @Houston, @Temple, and UCF should all be great games.

Memphis has 4 great ones, as well. At Navy, UCF, at Missouri, and Houston.

I think USF is going to miss Flowers, the RBs, WRs, and DL guys like Senat too much. 7-5. Hopefully USF beats GT.

(04-27-2018 11:06 AM)thespiritof1976 Wrote:  I hate to say it but.....10-2 and the east division championship. Hope I'm wrong....

Yeah, I just don't see a prediction like that with them losing so much of their offense.

I think the write up from SB Nation is probably right on the money. They'll be a pretty good team, but replacing basically 3000 rushing yards and your starting quarterback, as well as a bunch of other starters is just not a recipe for taking a step forward... at least not this season.

Yeah, we will definitely take a step back...at least initially. But here's the thing. The schedule is very favorable the first 7 games, so USF could literally scuffle their way to a 6-1 or 7-0 make and it wouldn't be that big of a shock.

There's enough talent stockpiled on this team to scratch out 8 or 9 wins fairly easily, IMO. But of course all of that comes down to QB play. Do we find our next star at QB, or to we struggle there. That will determine the season. I, and many other Bulls fans, are fairly confident that either Kean or Oladokun can get the job done. I don't know a whole lot about this transfer Blake Barnett, if he even comes, other than he used to be at Alabama.

(04-27-2018 01:31 PM)Knights_of_UCF Wrote:  I think USF is going to miss Flowers, the RBs, WRs, and DL guys like Senat too much. 7-5. Hopefully USF beats GT.

Perhaps you forgot that Tyre McCants and Darnell Salomon were returning at WR. They were our 2 best receivers at the end of last year. McCants weighs 240 and is virtually unstoppable once he gets his hands on the ball. Both are walking mismatches every time they step on field.

(04-27-2018 05:34 PM)BullsFanInTX Wrote:  

(04-27-2018 01:31 PM)Knights_of_UCF Wrote:  I think USF is going to miss Flowers, the RBs, WRs, and DL guys like Senat too much. 7-5. Hopefully USF beats GT.

Perhaps you forgot that Tyre McCants and Darnell Salomon were returning at WR. They were our 2 best receivers at the end of last year. McCants weighs 240 and is virtually unstoppable once he gets his hands on the ball. Both are walking mismatches every time they step on field.

McCants is a beast.

I’m curious to see how usf does this year. Usually teams take a step back when having to replace such dynamic players like QF. It’s like when we had to replace Bortles, except QF was more of a factor.

(04-28-2018 09:09 AM)jaredf29 Wrote:  I’m curious to see how usf does this year. Usually teams take a step back when having to replace such dynamic players like QF. It’s like when we had to replace Bortles, except QF was more of a factor.

Flowers wasn’t just any starting QB, he was a force on the field. Not only will the position need a new player, the team and staff will need to adjust. Does Strong have the coaching chops to make this transition? He is apparently recruiting well. IMO, his game planning and game day management are questionable. I base this on his coaching when he hasn’t had Flowers or Bridgewater. His time at Texas does not inspire confidence.

The result may be the same, but I am glad Flowers is gone. He was terrific.

I am somewhat more concerned about Strong's recruiting for a few reasons.

1. Taggart had a reputation of gunning hard for top recruits, even if he didn't get them in the end. That's how we ended up with guys like Marlon Mack and D'Earnest Johnson, both of whom picked us over ACC schools. Same with a number of other players. Flowers came here because CWT promised him a shot at QB-we know the result now. Strong is more conservative in that regard and perhaps isn't aggressive in going after those top guys. Will he get some? Yes, and he already has. But he's a "build up the trenches, then get the outside guys to match". The 50 HB dives a game didn't help matters-a lot of square-plug round hole type of stuff.

2. Sterlin Gilbert's playcalling is highly questionable. I figured a Briles disciple would hit what was working every single play. The players we have on O are experienced and have a strong understanding of the game and the system-yet he told them off in spring because they wanted to hit passes (because players were constantly open) but he insisted on the power run game "because they fumbled too much". That shows a lack of trust in your players.

That said it's not all bad news. We have two returning DT who both played last year (and did reasonably well). We have plenty of depth along the DL. Both Brett Kean and Chris Oladukon have a year of experience in this system. We have two incredible WRs in Salomon and McCants, plus a returning fifth year senior in Ryeshene Bronson.

If BK or CO end up being a revelation I think we'll be right back in the thick of the East division race. Beating GT and UCF at home will be vital.